Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Good morning!
At the beginning of the first video, she had a couple of questions due to some conflicting indicators about where to look – you looked at her, your hand in the cookie pocket… she was not entirely certain about there to go for the first couple of reps.
Things went more smoothly when you looked back at the ‘landing’ spot behind the wing – she committed beautifully!
On the 2nd session: This also went well! Getting the 2nd wrap is definitely hard and the best rep was when you slowed down your mechanics a bit (last rep). That allowed you to be super precise, and more importantly it helped her process it all. It is a hard dog skill, because they have to continue past the rotation AND the reward 🙂 She was lovely!
Outside:
Wow, she was a tugging beast! Love it!!! That made it a little harder to find the wing at first but you moved a little closer to it – that really helped. Because we love the toy play here, it was better to get closer to help her out AND still get the toy play. Just be sure that you remain centered on the wing so she can see it – you were starting to migrate onto her line which blocks the wing on a couple of reps.>But I could only manage the 2 in a row. Not sure why my brain could keep going>
No worries, those 2 in a row were great! Rewarding her early and often with the toy was fantastic and more important than how many wings in a row she did.
And toy play is going to tired her out faster than treat rewards, so definitely stop the session early (maybe after a minute) – she was tired by the end of this one. Then after a break, come out and do another minute. You’ll end up with the same amount of training time but all the sessions will be full blast 🙂
Great job!!!
TracyGood morning!
>Back to winter weather.>
Craziest spring ever: we had 95 on Friday and this morning is it 34 degrees.
>Arlene Spooner measured him for practice….15″>
Tell him he can grow one more inch for AKC! Or, come do some UKI where he can jump 12” and he would probably dominate the competition. If you don’t want to do the crazy international stuff, you can look at the DASH stuff which is super fun!
>He was crated at a trial today so he is full of energy. We did short work at the practice jump as well as spent time ring side tugging and asking for sit/down, spins etc.>
Little bits of work at the trial are good, and this was a nice game to burn off the rest of the energy 🙂 And it was a good challenge for him – he might have been extra energetic but still had to manage the mechanics of the teeter board. He did great!
>He scared me when I walked past the end of the board and he scarfed the food and was about to launch himself off the side>
OMG good catch! He really trusted you to catch him. He was not disturbed by it at all, confident little dude!
One thing you can do is put a reward on the target that he can lick, rather than grab & swallow. For example, a dab of cream cheese is great (or peanut butter as long as it doesn’t have any synthetic ingredients or sweeteners) – it will keep him there licking it so you have time to go back to help with the dismount. I use cream cheese with my dogs to prevent them from just jumping off the side after eating the treat.
It seems like the teeter was moving the tiniest bit and making a bit of noise: perfect! When do you get the borrowed tip it? When that arrives, we can start adding more movement.
Only one more suggestion: move the wing over so he exits on a completely straight line to the teeter. He was having to adjust the line which slows him down – a straight line will help him learn how to approach it at full speed and then shift his weight at the top.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
Motion Override: Excellent start and this is a hard game!
She was a little surprised by the first one (ok, a lot surprised haha) and you were moving a little fast for the beginning of the game so she needed a second cue – I swear she said “wait, what?!?!”
But then you slowed down for a couple of reps and she got it. When you got more speed (normal walking versus slow walking) she knew it was *something* about stopping but didn’t get the sit. You slowed down a bit on the last rep and she got it. So when you revisit it, start with the tiny slow steps that you ended with here, and then you can add more and more speed. And make sure you do it on your right side too.
Straight lines video: This went really well!!!
>She had no problem with the entry on the straight lines games.>
She was perfect here with her tunnels – the tunnel entry was on the line she was on, and your handling supported it. Yay!
Looking at the different cues:
Her GO lines were lovely – you can accelerate more, race her a bit 🙂
You had one FC and on backside in the session, both were really strong! She was not expecting them (I think she was expecting straight in those moments) but your handling was clear. The timing of the FC was really good – her turn will get even tighter with a little more distance between the jumps so she has more room to shift into collection.
And the backside cue was powerful and clear, so she got it even after all the reps to the front side. SUPER!
>Rear crosses are the hardest.>
I agree – out of all the cues, the RC is the hardest for dogs and humans!
I love that you rewarded all of her efforts – she was reading your info really well. One thing to do is reward *later*. I know, that is a weird thing to say haha! I suggest that because on a lot of the RCs you were trying to get the toy throw to produce the turn but that was late.
If you run up the RC diagonal to the center of the bar – that is the turn cue and the toy throw can come after she takes off. That is what you did :47 and :58 and especially 2:11! That running line created the RC and it worked really well.
When she had questions, you were showing the RC as she was already taking off (:19 and 1:59) or you were trying to cut across too early (:32). So showing the RC diagonal then throwing the toy as she took off was the winning line.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I am still fascinated with border Collies. I have always had dogs, but the way they work to figure out problems is amazing >
They are truly incredible! Amazing in every way. And cute too, which is a nice bonus 🙂
>You will see both of our flaws on here but I enjoy the feedback and it helps me learn.>
The bloopers are the best part 🙂 It helps us humans learn our mechanics and I also love learning how the dogs communicate with us.
Looking at the rocking horses video – super strong start here!! He was a little locked onto your hands at first but got better and better about leaving your hands for the barrels on each rep! Yay! By the end he was much smoother.
I think letting him sleep on it will make for an even smoother next session! His brain will keep training the skill in his sleep (for real!) For now, keep your sends to the barrels slow and smooth and connected (looking at his eyes), so he can figure out how to go around it. You will see when he tells you that you can go faster – he will zip around the barrel immediately and then look at you as if wondering why you were so slow haha! I figure that will happen in the next session.
He did great with the ‘out’ – Border Collies do love to move away to work! I think his questions about getting all the way to the prop at the beginning were because you were behind him, so he was not sure if it was OK to leave you like that. But as soon as you started moving… super!
As you play with this skill, you can try cueing it with an outside arm instead of the dog side arm. That will help him see the difference between when you want him to go to the prop (outside arm) versus when you want him to ignore it and move with you (dog-side arm). You can use the dog side arm to send to the out too but it is not as obvious as the outside arm.
He did well working for the treats but you can get even more engagement by mixing in tugging after each rep or two. That will keep him really excited and distractions in the environment are likely to fade away when tugging is present 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
The backing up is going well! The step might have been a little taller than he was expecting, but he sorted it out really well!Yes, you can toss the treats between his feet but your hand position can also get more steps with a slight adjustment:
You can get more steps backwards by keeping your cookie hands in front to you, a few inches above your knees. That will give him a focal point that keeps his head in a neutral position, which will lead to backing up being easier in terms of mechanics. When your hands behind you, he was looking at your face which lifts his head and changes the mechanics. That can cause him to not back up as much.
He did well offering going back and forth over the jump! Letting him offer was a nice mental warmup!
He also did really well finding the jumps in the mini sequence and reading the front crosses! My only suggestion on the little sequences is to throw the rewards on the line more, spreading it out so each obstacle gets rewarded at some point: use a get it marker and throw a toy or treat out ahead, so he looks forward at the line and get lots of rewards throughout.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Since she has done a lot of the jumping games lately, give her a couple of days off of the jumping stuff. Then when she has had some rest, do a set point at 8 inches and if that goes well: the wrap bar can be at 8 inches for now 🙂 Keep me posted!Tracy
Hi!
Wingin’ it went really well – his commitment is looking strong with the wings, including when you did a couple in a row and he had to commit even with all that countermotion! You can build up to doing 3 or 4 in a row and adding the race tracks around the outside too.
> I didn’t catch on, until reviewing the video, that going to 2 wings would require moving the toy from one hand to the other (or gesturing with the toy in the hand on the 1st wing)>
Yes – that toy movement was making it hard for him vbecause it drew his focus to your hands and he was not sure if you were rewarding or sending. So you can either keep the toy scrunched up in one hand and not switch it (he will probably think it is fine to go past it to the wing), or stick it in a pocket or inside your vest then whip it out when you want to reward.
> And I left you Skizzle’s bark of frustration. Bless him! That this is the first bark I’ve heard. And hopefully it’s not to continue (barking is not for me).>
I think in that moment it was actually a frustration-excitement combo, but mostly excitement! You had indicated the wing at :54 so he went to it… but I think maybe you were planning the handling? But he saw hand movement and went – then when nothing happened he stay engaged and was anticipating the next send. Then I htink you said “ready…” and he said HECK YEAH! LOL! In fact, that is exactly how I teach my dogs to bark on cue: get them pumped up, then kind of freeze while they are anticipating the fun, then say “ready”…. bark bark bark then reward 🙂 So you can take out the ‘ready’ word and just send, and he probably won’t bark.
>And Looking Ahead. Compared to the Pinwheel and Wrap Exercises, it seemed like a break (for my brain).>
It is a game that relies more on dog training than handling, so it definitely should have felt like a pleasant break compared to all the handling moves of the other games 🙂
And he did great! Excellent commitment throughout, even with the jump in different positions and you were on different lines. Super!
>I think maybe I was a little lazy in my movements – since it was the running parallel that was harder for Skizzle when I played the first version the second time.>
Because he seemed to have no questions, you can add more acceleration and even get way ahead of him, as long as you keep the same clear connection you had here.
>Things I noticed…at 00:13 he takes off way early for the jump.>
As young dogs learn to read different distances and different handler positions, we sometimes see ‘interesting’ takeoff spots 🙂 No worries, he sorted it out and did well on the other reps. He was just figuring out form and how to use his power to go fast 🙂
>At the end, I try to get fancy w/ tunnel-wrap-tunnel-jump. But I’m not in the right place to cue to the wrap – and stepping backwards brings him to me.>
If is fun to get fancy! And it might not have gone perfectly according to plan, but you kept going and rewarded him as if it was exactly what you intended. So he was happy with it, feeling confident and able to keep going fast.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
> Aelfraed is lucky that his mom also enjoys baked goods and that trips to the bakery now include the thought process of “what would Aelfraed enjoy a little bit of?”.>
He is very lucky! And I bet the answer to what he would enjoy is “everything” LOL!!
The straight line sequence videos looked great! Your connection was spot on! Timing and verbals and line of motion: all lovely! It was very very clear what you wanted on each rep, so he did great. You did throw in one blooper 🙂 on the 2nd video at :19 – the RC cue was late so he turned left, because on that rep you didn’t show the RC pressure line to the center of the bar so he never really got the RC info. Compare to the previous RCs and the next rep at :30 where you showed the pressure line to the center of the bar, and those went great.
One handling suggestion: To get further ahead on the backside line to make it easier to cue the backside, you can send to the tunnel then cut the corner and head directly to your next position rather than curve along the course with him. That will get you further ahead and make it easier to show the backsides.
One dog training suggestion: he gives you some head checking when driving ahead on the 2 jumps, especially on the Go reps. I think that is a reinforcement thing: he doesn’t really dive on the lotus ball and rip it open from what I can see here – he goes to it and then waits for you to open it. That would make sense about why he doesn’t want to get too far from your hands 🙂 So we need to find something you can throw that he will drive to without hesitation. An entire croissant? haha just kidding! Will he grab for the lotus ball without you if something better is in it? Or a treat hugger, because then he can snatch the treat out without sticking his face into velcro? Or a ball? We can also use a manners minder (I think he will drive to it, yes?), as long as it stays out there the whole time while you cue other things too so it is not a giant lure but gets triggered on the go reps.
We can also give him a bit of a higher bar to jump on the wrap jump to help him set his hind end more. Raise it by 2 inches and see what he says 🙂
He did really well with the rear crosses on the mountain climber game! Going to the end and not watching the handling went really well! He did notice the movement and noise of the board and was a little more careful going across the board. I think part of it was the whip of the board – as he was getting on it, there was enough vibration that it was bouncing up and down which probably felt & sounded weird. For now, attach a small weight to the bottom of the upside so when it moves, it stays down and doesn’t bound around. The weight can be something as simple as a rock that is duct taped to the underside of the top 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Good job re-introducing the teeter with lots of support on the first rep! She was very keen to run to the teeter and was progressively less careful about going up it on both sides. You can let her sleep on it for a day or two, then revisit it and add some tugging to make it extra exciting 🙂
On the straight lines 4-ways sessions:
The go and wrap reps all looked really good for the full sequence! I think we should give her more bar to jump on the wraps, so she sets her hind end to lift off rather than run over it. How tall of a bar has she seen in her jump grids so far? She is young so we will work it up very gradually.
The backsides also looked strong – really lovely connection and line of motion! When you added a blind after the backside towards the end, the timing of the blind and re-connection were late so the connection on the new side happened after she was past you. The FC looked much better and you were able to connect really well!
The rear crosses were the only hard part, and I don’t think it was timing and connection. It was the running line. On the first one at :28, you were a little behind her and I think you were trying to cut acorss to the new side. But that made the info late – you were still on the left wrap side as she approached takeoff.
At :51 and 1:03, you were further up the line (yay!) but also trying to get to the other side – but that read backside to her because it is t he same line as the backside pushes (your feet running to where the wing and bar meet. If I didn’t hear your verbal, I would have thought you wanted the backside.
Now check outyour line of motion at 1:14 – you ran up the line with pressure towards the center of the bar. Nailed it! That is the RC cue: pressure towards the center of the bar. Getting to the new side is the icing on the cake 🙂 So be sure to pressure forward to the center of the bar and not worry about getting to the new side that quickly, to get more consistent rear crosses.
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
The looking ahead game went really well – she found that jump brilliantly! The one little blooper when she didn’t take it was caused by your disconnecting to throw a bit early. But all of the other reps from all the different positions looked really strong, including the lateral distance and when she needed to drive ahead.
>I felt like I had a harder time sending to the tunnel (especially in position 1) than driving to the jump.>
I agree! I think the angle of the tunnel entry was not as obvious on her line, and she was not used to sending to it from a relative standstill. Plus, the value was all on the jump. You can curl the tunnel entry a tiny bit more so it is more obvious to her, and mix in throwing rewards at the tunnel exit so she can also get rewarded for the tunnel.
The countermotion game also went really well! The single and 2 wing sends were pretty perfect 🙂 Things were definitely harder when you did the 4 wing game – it is harder as a game and also yes, part of it was a big dude and a cute dog in the other ring as you mentioned. But that is a hugely valuable experience and she did great! Good girl!
Her commitment was really good with the wings!!! Only one little blooper:
At 1:04, you were a little too quick and early to start rotating away, so she didn’t take the wing. You can send that early, but the successful reps with that send timing had you facing forward until she is past you and looking at the wing. The timing at 1:04 will be perfectly fine when she is more experienced but for now, you can face forward a little longer.The race tracks were stronger to her right than to her left: when she was turning right later in the video, it looked really easy and smooth! When she was turning left when you added the race tracks, you had to be super connected and really close to the wings to get it. You made strong adjustment to get it and that plus the rewards helped a lot!!!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>The big dogs do get amped up the longer I wait & especially if I am ‘preparing’ the bag the go outside to train- which doesn’t help Sunnie because she feeding off of them! >
Dogs are brilliant about recognizing the signs of training starting LOL!! You can mix things up by preparing the bag then *not* going out to train, for example, so they don’t get really pumped up just be seeing treat prep happening.
>But one thing I have done is that she has to wait at the gate on the deck before I release her to the yard. Kelsie goes flying off the deck (ya I know bad momma, but I didn’t know that she needed impulse control too even if she wasn’t as ‘excitable’ as my older dog, anyway that’s another story!) sooo Sunnie had to wait until Kelsie & Lexie (my 13 y/o who is the older version of Sunnie lol) are in the yard. I am impressed with this kid because this is hard for her, but she waits until I say Ok.>
Wow, what a good girl, Sunnie!!! That must be HARD and it is really cool that she can do it!!! Reminding her with the wait cue is perfectly fine and helps her be successful!
>So yesterday after a little training session I got the crazy tug toy out & ran around with it, that got her juices going and she was nuts. Then I experimented (as you suggested up there days ago :D) to try throwing too- let’s see what she likes better – throw or chase! I lost her to party of one when I threw the crazy tug toy! She took it and ran away, circling me – probably how she plays keep away with Kelsie! wants to play with us but also wants the prize! She is like this too if she gets a ball or a hollee roller, runs like she has a prize! >
Party of one moments can be fun – I like to admire the speed of the dog as they are racing around with the toy 😂🤣 and also, we can teach her to come back with the toy.
>This makes me nervous because I don’t trust her recall & sometimes I don’t have a long line on her, especially after training. The only way I have a chance of getting her back is if I get close enough to her to do a scatter. She will drop the toy and I can get a long line back on her>
You can work it separately from training where she isn’t on a line, to get the procedure for getting the toy or ball back. I like to teach a ‘bring it to me and trade’ strategy: I toss a toy or ball, then run away and whip out another toy (like a 2nd ball or an even better tuggie) then trade when the pup brings back the first one. That way they learn that bringing it back is the start of the fun and not the end of the fun! And eventually you can trade for food – is there a ball or anything that she will still love, even if you give her a treat? And of course you can start this in your training room.
>The life skills dept is lacking, I blame it on winter, not thinking I had the space to do it 🙁 I know I need to work on this ASAP but have to find the resources to help me.
I have found pattern games to be amazing to help with recalls – that back-and-forth pattern game that she learned can be taken outside. Then after you send her to a treat, run away and call her, then reward again. She is still really young so it is normal to feel that you don’t trust the recall, but taking the pattern game on the road will help!
Also, if you want to have a really fantastic recall… take her to a foundation flyball class. We do INSANE recall work and so the dogs have fantastic recalls even as pups! And it is fun too 🙂 Even if you never do flyball… I suggest everyone take a flyball foundation class or seminar because of how much fun they make it for the dogs to recall and ignore distractions.
She did really well with the remote reinforcement game! She was SO funny – it took her a moment to be convinced to leave it because at first she was facing it and only turned her head LOL! Then she was like “this is strangely easy, should I be offering behavior on the bowl?” LOL! But she showed tremendous impulse control because she could have easily just run over and grabbed the treats. GOOD GIRL!!!
>Middle came back in the picture accidentally lol! Good Girl Sunnie – you’ll see what she did!>
She was so cute! I think she believes that little flick of the right hand is the line up cue, and she loves her middle position! So if you want the hand cue to mean the left spin, you can make it more obvious by showing her your hand near her nose, then giving a big obvious swoosh of the hand that is not near your leg. Hand flick near your leg totally looks like a middle cue 🙂
>Should we try this again, at what level? I don’t want to rush it, I’m not sure what increment we should add >
You can add 2 things:
– start asking for more tricks after she has moved away from the cookies. It can be a hand touch, a middle, a spin, etc. You can do a couple in a row. And randomly use your ‘stash’ marker and run back to the rewards.
– you can also have her on leash as you walk away from the treats, then when you get across the room, take the leash off, cue the middle, ask for tricks, etc then mark and run back to the stash. This starts to simulate moving to the start line in agility!>I hope this transfers over to a wonderful start line stay LOL!!! >
It will! Plus it transfers to incredible focus in the ring, because she will not be distracted or stressed by you not having food or a toy with you. She will be happy and relaxed, knowing exactly how to earn the toy.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>I feel like I missed (skipped) the backsides lesson…can you point me to what that lesson might be called?>
This is the first time we are looking at them here in MaxPup 3, but you will find them here in MaxPup 2:
Week 4 Feel The Wind In Your Hair
Week 8 Proofing Games: Backside ChallengesHe is getting really independent on his lines! You didn’t have to work that hard at all to get him to find the lines and wraps! Yay!
All of his go lines were fast and forward-focused. LOVE IT! Wrapping him also went well – only one spot where he had a question about wrapping towards the wall (see below).
>I left in his early re-run on his own with the toy 🙂 for your entertainment!>
That was the cutest thing ever! And a sure sign that he is enjoying agility with you!
He had one question about the wrap towards you: the decel at :54 was really good and he was about to commit – but then you stepped back with your left leg and moved your left hand in a way that *could* have been a reward throw (according to Skizzle) so he came to you. Dogs really see everything! You were clearer on the next rep (no stepping back, no possible cookie movement 🙂 ) and he did great with his commitment. Lovely!
At 1:16, he had a good question about connection: as he exited the wrap, he could not really see connection (eyes and front of chest) so he just ran with you. You made an excellent adjustment on the next rep – BIG connection as he exited the wrap and he had no questions about the line.
>Also – he took the tunnel the “wrong” way (aka following my body language) once – is there a verbal for intentionally sending them to the far side of the tunnel (was that in week 1, maybe? – I feel like I can see Contraband and you doing this.)>
He had two of ‘which side of the tunnel’ questions:
at 1:30, you had good connection coming around the wing, then looked forward which turned your feet/shoulders to the other side of the tunnel, so that is where he want (he might have also thought it was a blind cross too)
Compare that to 2:14 where you had that same good clear connection coming around the wing, then maintained it so your feet & shoulders continued to face the tunnel – and he got it. Yay!
And at 1:46 you turned to the other side of the tunnel, so he came with you. On that one, I think the timing got a little off because he backjumped at 1:44 – I think on that one he perhaps didn’t want to turn to the wall so he came back over the jump, which changed his line and your timing.
He was happy to turn to the wall at 2:03 but that line made it harder to see the line to the tunnel especially with you behind him (he was moving FAST). The tunnel entry there was a lead change to his left (away from you) so a ‘get out’ cue (and the opposite arm) can help push him away to get it.
I grabbed screenshots of those question moments so you can see what he was seeing. Here is the link:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZrKlHPAZANETy2T847C4aL3y-LtvNFwmEkNguszie0Q/edit?usp=sharing
Overall, though, you two were terrific!!!
>Until this week, I thought I had plenty of space for agility practice here. It’s still a total luxury for where I live, and completely adequate. But now I have space envy.>
Totally understand! I used to live in a lovely, civilized area where everything was nice and close! In the quest for more space, I am now out in the middle of nowhere LOL!!! It is a trade off – you have plenty of space for now, and at some point you can see if there are places you can rent or drop into a class? Do I remember correctly that Monica Bush isn’t too far from you?
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>His rewards today consisted of croissant and buttered dinner roll.>
OMG! I volunteer to be your dog. Those are two of my favorite food groups!
He was perfect. You running? No problem. You staying behind? No problem. You moving away laterally? No problem.
Since this is going perfectly, you can add 2 more things:
– getting further ahead and keep moving past the teeter for 5 or 6 more steps after he gets to the end (do this a a walk at first in case running is too exciting and he wants to jump off)
– staying very close to the start wing and rear crossing the teeter. This is the hardest one! But I think if you use some high quality carbs then he will have no problem 🙂
Finding the with him on the other side went great too. He was just about perfect! He looked at you a tiny bit when you were close to the tunnel on the reps where you wanted him to drive ahead at the beginning, but that went away as he did a couple of reps of that with the throw reward. He was driving ahead pretty significantly by the end! You can also place the toy out there sometimes before the rep, so he leaves you in the dust and you can even play with running as hard as you can. The lateral went really well. He had one rep where he ran past the jump towards the end (1:27). That one was kind of an anomaly, I think – he might have been looking at you a little more because your shoulder was a little closed – the connection was a little soft for a baby dog learning to find the line with you ahead. You had more connection on the next rep (your shoulder was further back and you looked at him more directly) plus an earlier toy throw, so he was got it.
You can play with delaying the toy throw on the reps where you are ahead to be sure he is looking at the line and not at you or watching you throw the toy.
Great job!
TracyHi! She was great here, getting more and more confident with each rep! It is so funny that she is also working for bread LOL!
>She accepted help on the way up the first time and by the end she didn’t even care for it! >
Yes – by the beginning of the 2nd rep, she was like “get out of my way, I am going to the bread” LOL!!! That is great and also means we can keep working on independence!
Since she didn’t need your help going up the board, the next step is to fade out Auntie Kyla. The easiest thing to do is attach a target to the end of the board (either right on the end, or sticking out at the end but still really close to the end). I have used plastic targets or spoons, duct taped to the board. And then place the reward on/in the target (letting her see you do it) – then you can go to the end of the board and let her go up it. She might need help the first time, or not LOL! But she will definitely need you to help her get off the board.
When she is happy to run to the end of the board, you can add in your motion of walking it past it or laterally away from it too.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
The single wing sends for the countermotion went really well!
When you added 4 wings in a row, she didn’t quite commit to the 4th wing (you were too quick to hit the brakes and rotate all at the same time, and also she hadn’t done 2 in a row yet so 4 was a big leap).
For the handling there, be sure to decelerate facing forward for a couple of steps then rotate to help her commitment (more like what you did at 1:29).Also, when you told her she was wrong, she took off. So rather than tell her she was wrong, just keep going or move the other direction and reward.
The race tracks around the outside looked strong! They are hard at first because the pup are used to wrapping, so she checked in with you a little but kept going. Nice job with the connection! Then it was easy to add the wrap when you wanted it.
On the straight line 4 ways game:
The GO looked good! The wrap at the beginning looked awesome!! Great timing on the cues for the wrap! She has a little back jump when you did the wraps again towards the end – she just turned too tight! Then she fixed it on the next rep. When the bars are taller, I don’t think back jumping will be an issue at all.The rear crosses were harder for sure (they are the hardest ones for dogs and humans!)
For the RCs – remember that there is a high likelihood that errors are handler errors so the RC rule is reward in the new direction even if she turns the ‘wrong’ way when she takes the jumpOn the RC at :36 you were too far ahead so your RC pressure pushed her off the jump (throw the reward over the bar anyway). It looks like she got a cookie there after it but you had already marked it as wrong .
On the RC at :44 and :52, you were not too far ahead but starting that close to the jump made the RC info really late – so she was correct to turn right there because there left turn cues happened after takeoff. Reward her on the left turn line anyway. Stopping/no reward and marking it as wrong, or praising but not rewarding will be confusing to her! She got the next RC but I think the reward was placed out there – it is more ideal to let her give you feedback on whether the cues were on time (based on how she chooses the turn) and then throw the reward.
Here are two screenshots of what she was seeing – on these, she was already turning to her right based on the previous info, and the RC info is starting when she is already in the air. Ideally, you would be on the new side already.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NPTiOljDldr66cl8Hm0EtxCA1PTgGRjgFpCP0JMgBrk/edit?usp=sharing
Also, if go means straight and switch means RC, just stick with switch for the RCs – she was looking at you at the end when you were saying go go go but not really accelerating, the hopped into a switch.
To get the RCs more smoothly, you can run closer to the tunnel so she is not that far behind you, then really accelerate up the line to the center of the RC bar. That will cue her to both drive ahead AND to turn the correct direction.
The backside at the end went great! Lovely job showing clear connection and the correct line of motion. Nailed it!
Great job here!
Tracy
